Sunday Special
by Ravenclaw'sWit015
Summary: "And it's here, in his mama's arms, where he's finally warm, where the world begins and ends for Henry. " Or, a brief glance into an alternate universe where Emma doesn't give Henry up for adoption. Written for emmaswans.


Sunday Special

Summary: "And it's here, in his mama's arms, where he's finally warm, is where the world begins and ends for Henry. " Or, a brief glance into an alternate universe where Emma doesn't give Henry up for adoption. Written for emmaswans.

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Eddy and Adam. **

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The first thing he feels when he wakes up is cold. The space heater is broken and Mama hasn't had enough money to buy another one yet. He rolls out of bed with his blanket wrapped around himself, and hops across the cold floor to look out the window. Henry likes to get up early every morning to look out the window and watch all the people out on the street.

A sudden burst of excitement hits him as he watches the people walk along the sidewalk, because he remembers that it's _Sunday_.

Sunday.

The only day out of the week when Mama doesn't have to work.

Sunday.

_Their_ day. His and Mama's special day where they get to do whatever they want.

It's still early though, and Henry's still cold. He hops back across the floor, which is still cold, and crawls back into bed beside Mama, who's still sleeping. Henry tries to lie still. He doesn't want to wake her because she's always so tired from working so much.

Mama must be just a little awake though, because when he cuddles up beside her, she rolls over and wraps him up tight in her arms. And it's here, in his mama's arms, where he's finally warm, where the world begins and ends for Henry.

v

He and Mama get up a little while later. They take their baths and get dressed and go downstairs to the diner that Mama works at.

They sit at the counter and Charlie, the cook-who always says things that make Henry laugh and that make Mama roll her eyes and say; _Watch your language around the kid!-_brings them the Sunday Special, Belgian Waffles with blueberries and whipped cream. He and Mama both have hot chocolate with their breakfast. Hot chocolate with cinnamon, 'cause it's their favorite drink.

v

They only have the two end pieces of the loaf of bread left. Neither of them likes that part and Mama says its stupid to just throw food away. So after breakfast they decide to go to the park and feed it to the ducks.

The ducks run away when he goes up to them to give them bread and Henry almost starts to cry. But then he remembers that he's _five_ now, and five is way too big to be crying because ducks are rude and don't want your bread.

"Just throw it at them," Mama calls from the park bench she's sitting on. "Like this." She tosses a piece of bread at one of the ducks, which bends over and gobbles it right up.

He goes and sits next to her on the bench and throws some bread at a duck. The bread hits it on the head and all the ducks scatter away.

Henry decides then and there that ducks are his least favorite animals.

v

Mama got really good tips this week. So after the park she asks him if he wants to go see a movie as a special treat. Henry nods eagerly; they haven't been to the movies in _forever_.

The movie they see is about a rat that helps a chef learn to cook. Henry loves it because it's funny and also because Mama likes it too. She usually falls asleep during his movies. But this time she's laughing right along with him.

v

When the movie is over they get hot dogs off the hot dog cart by the theater and then walk a few blocks to the library. They get there just in time for story hour. Mama leaves him with Mrs. Stevenson, the librarian, and the other kids while she goes to get some studying done. Henry pouts for bit because Sundays are supposed to be _their_ day and how can it be _their_ day if Mama leaves him to go do homework?

But then he hears Mrs. Stevenson say the title of the story she's reading. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Henry loves that movie and he figures he'll like the book because the books are always better. So he let's go of Mama's hand and goes to sit down next to a pretty blonde girl in a green dress.

When Mama comes back to get him later on he doesn't want to leave because he was right, the book is better than the movie. But she tells him that they can check out _Charlie and the Chocolate_ Factory and that it'll be their bedtime story for the week.

They end up getting _Charlie_ and three other books for bedtime.

v

It's dinnertime by the time they make it back home. Mama holds him up to the stove so that he can stir the spaghetti sauce. And because it's Sunday and Sundays are special, she doesn't get mad when he slurps his noodles.

v

Mama makes him go to bed at his regular bedtime. Nothing can make him stop pouting this time. He sulks all through bath time and even while she's reading _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ to him.

"Come on, Bug. You know I have to study." She tries to reason with him, but Henry's having none of it.

"Sundays are _special_," he insists.

"I know. But I have to get my homework done if I want to pass my classes."

"School is stupid," he pouts. "Let's play Connect Four instead!" He tries to crawl off the bed to get to the closet where they keep their board games, but Mama stops him.

"Henry, bed," she says firmly.

And even though he's five and he's supposed to be a big boy, Henry can't help it this time when his eyes start to water and tears start sliding down his face. It's not fair. She's supposed to spend _all_ of Sunday with him and the day's not over yet and he misses her during the week when she's at work and he's at daycare and she's always too tired to play with him when they get home. He doesn't realize that he's said all of this out loud until Mama pulls him into her lap and starts wiping his face with her hands.

"Shhh…," she says as she rubs circles on his back, "I know it sucks that I have to work all the time. But guess what? When I finish school, I won't have to work so hard because I'll have a better job. And the best part about that is that if I have a better job, we won't have to live over top of the diner anymore. We can have a real house. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Henry's crying too hard to tell her that he still thinks school is dumb and that he doesn't care if they have a real house or not because he likes living overtop of the diner. So instead he just throws his arms around her neck and buries his face in it.

"I'll tell you what," Mama says. "How about if you stay up and keep me company while I do my homework? Sound good?"

It's not Connect Four, but it's better than bedtime.

Henry nods.

v

Emma shifts a sleeping Henry in her lap so that he's cradled in the crook of her other arm and her writing hand is free. She's making flashcards for an upcoming exam, the last of the fall semester. One down, five more to go, and then she'll have her degree in computer science.

No more flirting with pervy businessmen at the diner for better tips.

No more dealing with Charlie's skeevy, borderline-harassment "teasing."

No more of this crappy studio apartment above the diner.

Her stomach does flip-flops when she imagines Henry playing in a huge backyard in a nice neighborhood in the suburbs, where the good schools are. She thinks back to his tantrum a few hours ago. And her heart breaks when as she recalls his earlier words.

_I miss you! You're always too tired to play with me! _

Emma misses him too. She lives for Sunday. And she hates having to cut their time together short. But she knows that it'll be worth it in the end.

"Things are gonna get better, kid," she whispers to him, running her fingers through his hair. "I promise."

Henry wiggles in her arms and buries his face in her chest. Emma sets her pencil down to cradle him in both arms. He was still so little. And the knowledge that he wouldn't stay this small forever, that soon he wouldn't be her little boy, begging her to stop what she was doing to play with him, made her wrap her arms around him even tighter.

In a few minutes she will tuck him into bed.

In a few minutes she will go back to making her flashcards.

In a few minutes she will return to stressing about her upcoming finals and money for day care and groceries and a new space heater.

But for right now, Emma will just hold her baby. Her reminder that all the crap she's going through right now, long hours of studying, pervy customers, and living paycheck to paycheck, was all worth it. 

Because for Emma, this moment here, holding her son—the sweetest, smartest, cutest, funniest little boy on the planet-in her arms, is where the world begins and ends.

_Fin_.

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